Nick Reiner was charged with the murder of his parents, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced Tuesday, two days after Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner were found stabbed to death in their Los Angeles home, a horrific end for a filmmaking couple renowned in Hollywood and across the world.
Reiner faces two counts of first-degree murder, with a special circumstance of multiple murders. He also faces a special allegation of using a dangerous and deadly weapon — a knife, the district attorney added. The charges carry a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole, or the death penalty. No decision has been made yet about seeking a death sentence.
“Prosecuting these cases involving family members are some of the most challenging and most heart-wrenching cases that this office faces because of the intimate and often brutal nature of the crimes involved,” the district attorney added. “Rob Reiner was a brilliant actor and director and iconic force in our entertainment industry for decades. His wife, Michele Singer Reiner, was an equally iconic photographer and producer. Their loss is beyond tragic.”
The younger Reiner, 32, was arrested late Sunday by the Los Angeles Police Department, hours after authorities discovered his parents’ bodies at their Brentwood home. He is being held in a Los Angeles County jail without bail. During a news conference, LAPD deputy chief Alan Hamilton said Reiner was arrested “without incident” or resistance in the Exposition Park area near the University of Southern California campus.
Authorities mostly declined to answer reporters’ questions about the specifics of the crime, and said they are waiting for the coroner to determine the time of death. Hochman said while he doesn’t expect significant delays for the case, it will take time to consider the “robust” amount of discovery they will bring to court.
Nick Reiner has a history of drug addiction and arguments with his parents, by the family’s own accounts. During a period of reconciliation, Nick and Rob collaborated on the semiautobiographical 2015 film “Being Charlie,” which depicted the title character living on the street.
Multiple news outlets reported that a day before the killings, Nick was disruptive at a holiday party he attended with his parents at Conan O’Brien’s home. A person who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the topic told The Washington Post that Nick had been behaving strangely all night.
Nick Reiner wasn’t able to appear in court Tuesday because he wasn’t medically cleared, his lawyer Alan Jackson told reporters at the courthouse. Once cleared, Hochman said Reiner will be brought to court to be arraigned and enter his plea.
Rob Reiner’s directing and acting career spanned decades. He earned two Emmy Awards for his role on the sitcom “All in the Family” and directed a run of indelible films, beginning with “This Is Spinal Tap” in 1984, and including classics such as “When Harry Met Sally…” and “The Princess Bride.”
Michele Singer Reiner worked as a photographer in the late 1980s, photographing Donald Trump for the cover image of his 1987 book “The Art of the Deal.” She met Rob on the New York set of “When Harry Met Sally…” The couple had been married for 36 years and often collaborated on projects.
In addition to their contributions to the entertainment industry, the Reiners advocated for early-childhood education and the legalization of same-sex marriage at the state and national levels. Rob Reiner was a vocal opponent of President Trump on social media.
While their killings drew sympathy across the political spectrum, Trump took the opportunity to bash Rob Reiner on Truth Social and attributed the couple’s deaths to “Trump Derangement Syndrome,” a remark that appalled many, including some prominent conservatives.
Former first lady Michelle Obama, who had known the Reiners for many years and planned to see the couple the day they died, defended the couple from Trump’s attacks on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” on Monday night, calling them “some of the most decent, courageous people you ever want to know.”
Trump’s statement was the “final straw” for World Wrestling Entertainment legend Mick Foley, who said Tuesday on Instagram that he would no longer make appearances on WWE’s behalf while Trump is in office and that he would not sign a new deal after his contract expires in June. “I no longer wish to represent a company that coddles a man so seemingly void of compassion as he marches our country towards autocracy,” Foley wrote. (Trump has long had ties to WWE and its founding leaders Vince and Linda McMahon, now the secretary of education.)
In addition to Nick, the couple shared a son, Jake, and daughter, Romy. Rob, who was previously married to actress and director Penny Marshall, was also the adoptive father of her daughter, Tracy Reiner.
Sonia Rao, Ethan Beck, Amber Ferguson, Jada Yuan and Reis Thebault contributed to this report.
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